Bailey Family

I was trying to wait until the front reached chin length and then give her a nice even bob that could grow all together down to her shoulders...but....as she never left her 'style' in more than an hour or so and it was constantly looking scraggly and mullet like in the back, I decided to go ahead for it.  Even with the front hair still shorter than her chin (and barely long enough to tuck behind her ear), it still looks so much better. Why'd I ever put it off?  It looks like a short/medium cut with side bangs.)   It's hard to tell what it looks like from these pictures - she was my best "first hair cut" of all the kids (as a do-over, I would not have done Seth's myself - boys are hard enough as it is and he was afraid of his shadow...let alone the scissors), but she was totally excited about it - just not the "after pictures". Guess you'll just have to make an effort to see us soon if you want to see it better!

Not a very descriptive title, is it? Probably I should have gone for something like, "Beth and School" or "Trying not to turn this into a soapbox on public schools" or something like that. NOTE: This is a long "thinking" post...more article length than quick update length...so if you're short on attention, might as well skip this one. :) If I had known then what I know now, I would have planned my babies exactly when they came (maybe squished a little closer together in age on the end there, or maybe not - depending on the day). Huh? You say.  What I mean is - I want to keep them at home as long as I can (without homeschooling them), so I'm glad they were all born in the fall, or at the beginning of the year (instead of spring or summer when they turn 5 and then BAM - they're in school.) I do think having as many as possible before the first starts school is a good idea (because a baby and a school schedule didn't go so well for ...

Dear Heavenly Father, We 'sank zee' [thank Thee] for dis day. Pwease bwess Wauren [Lauren] to get out of da hostible [hospital] and pwease bwess somebody to get a job and pwease bwess da food. In Jesus name, Amen. (she forgot someone, so she added) and pwease bwess Memere's finger. In Jesus name, Amen. [again] :) I'm not sure whose job she is praying for (maybe my brother in law?), so if you need a job, consider yourself prayed for by my toddler. I love when my little ones start praying "all by myself".

Whoever said, "Wow, what are you going to do now that you only have 1 at home?" was probably thinking lots of free time to craft and sew and cook and sleep and read and run errands, ..... And while I did get a project done this week, and while it is easier to get just 1 kid out of the van instead of 3 or 5, I still have all the same stuff I did before (minus the time I spent reading with the twins last year during Alee's nap).  However, to be more specific, here's the real answer to the question. I added 2 things to my day (since last school year) 1.) I spend a little 1 on 1 time with Alee after our morning errands, work, etc. 2.) Naptime is mine again - which this week turned into 2 days of cold-recovery naps and 2 days of project (one I've been putting off for, hm, about 2 years. :) (For more details on our schedule/life and how the school year is kept in balance, stay tuned for the next post!)